Many undetected heart attacks in women

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Angiograms failed to detect plaque disruption that led to 38 percent of heart attacks in women with normal angiograms, U.S. researchers said.

Lead author Dr. Harmony Reynolds of the New York University Langone Medical Center said researchers investigated the origin of heart attacks in 50 women with open coronary arteries on angiography, using intravascular ultrasound and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

In the study, plaque ruptures were identified by the researchers in some artery segments that appeared completely normal on the angiogram. The researchers used intravascular ultrasound to visualize the artery walls in more detail than conventional angiography can.

"For the first time our research findings show that disrupted plaque is the culprit behind heart attacks in many women who appear on an angiogram to have minimal or no coronary artery disease," Reynolds said in a statement. "The findings show these women can essentially have a heart attack that is just like a heart attack in typical male and female patients whose coronary arteries do show blockage on an angiogram."

The study authors stressed the research results were important because many heart attack patients without angiographically obstructive coronary artery disease may go undiagnosed and not receive the necessary heart medications like anti-platelet drugs and statins -- lifesaving tools against future cardiac events.

The findings are published in the journal Circulation.